Loyalty 'till Death
by Thingy
Summary: My father had always been the one person I admired. So when he told me I could trust that man to take good care of me, I did. When he told me my new family would love me, I believed him. I just didn't know that it was Sithis I would be serving.
1. Prologue

As the knife in my hands cut through the soft flesh of the man's abdomen, his eyes locked with mine. I finished the slash, leaving his intestines pouring out, and his mouth opened to scream.

"No! No! Please! Don't kill me!"

I wanted to tell him it didn't matter. That even if I left right now and never looked back, he would still die. No healer in Cyrodiil would be able to help him. I wanted to reassure him that I would stop his suffering soon. And that I was sorry that I was doing this to him.

But I didn't.

I just cracked an emotionless grin and plunged my knife down again. This time I ripped open his chest. Now he screamed not words, but the terrified scream of a dying animal. The sound made my eardrums hurt.

I wanted to thank him. He was my ticket to the life my father said I was born to have. His sacrifice would make my father proud of me.

The grin slid of my face as I slashed my knife one last time. The cut across his throat broke of his scream, making it end in a gurgle before he fell silent completely.

"This is for you, father."

As the whispered words left my mouth I realised my mistake. No longer had I any right to call _him_ my father. No, my first murder had to be dedicated to my new father. Sithis. The one who I would serve until my dying breath.

I gulped and looked away from the body. Perhaps because I had failed to dedicate this to Sithis, a speaker wouldn't come to recruit me. Even though that meant I had failed my purpose in life, it still send a shiver of hope through my heart.

Of anyone, I wasn't cut out to be a murderer. A servant of Sithis. One of the brotherhood. Call it as you will, for me it was all the same. For me it was fulfilling my father's dying breath and the rope around my neck that would be my demise.

I was too soft, too kind to ever kill anyone. Or so I had thought.

When I lured this Imperial to some far off cave, I didn't have a concrete plan of what I was going to do. I just wanted to kill him. Murder him. Send a signal to the Dark Brotherhood that I was ready to join their ranks.

I had entered the cave only to run straight ahead and wait in a wide-spaced chamber. True to my planning he had followed me straight in. As I gave him a smile he slowly came forward. It was then I suddenly rushed towards him and pulled out my knife. I knocked him to the ground and launched my first attack.

Killing him had been so easy. The only trouble it gave me was the walk from the inn towards the cave. The rest had been childsplay.

I let out a shaky sigh and focussed on the body again. I knelt down and cleaned the blade of my knife on his shirt. Next I slowly closed his eyes. I folded his hands over his chest and ordered his body. As I straightened up I looked down on him again, choosing to forget the blood that turned the ground a deep red.

I shook my head, put away the knife and marched out of the depressing cavern.

---

_AN: So that's the prologue. This fic is basically going to be the journey called the "Dark Brotherhood". And a whole lotta extra, now that I think about it. xD So far I've been having a lot of fun writing it, so I hope you will also enjoy reading it. I'm a sporadic and lazy updater, so just gimme a prod if it takes too long. If you are interested in more info about this fic check my site, address is on my profile._

_All names (except from my main character) from this are taken from "Morrowind" because I'm just so not creative when it comes to those things. (Read: Too lazy to figure out what kind of names each race has). So my apologies if the names are familiar and if it bothers you. My main character has a name that I doubt you would find in any race, so don't mind that please. I just liked the name._

_That's all I guess. (…an AN almost as big as the chapter itself. OTL)_

_I hope you enjoyed the short prologue and thanks for reading._

_See you next time!_


	2. Chapter 1

I was born somewhere in the neighbourhood of the city of Falinesti, in Valenwood. My mother was a Bosmer and my father a Dunmer. They met in the Cyrodiilic town of Anvil. My mother was there for simple recreational reasons, my father for family matters.

As the story goes, the romantic, unguarded Bosmer and the uptight, dutiful Dunmer fell in love. Call it cliché and fairytale material, for me it is the truth that shaped my life.

My mother lived a simple life. She was born as the second daughter in a loving family. They lived in some small village in the North of Valenwood.

She was, like I said, romantic, unguarded, a dreamer. The first impression she would give you was one that shouted "easy prey!". When you bothered conversing with her though, she would trash you in every way possible. She had a way with words that I have never seen anyone else master.

It should barely be a surprise that my father, used only to the strict and uptight way of the Dunmer, fell for her the moment they started talking.

He was born in the city of Blacklight as the second son of a minor noble of House Redoran, one of the five remaining Great Houses in Morrowind. Also the most strict and loyal House. My father followed the rules perfectly. The rules I was taught to recite the moment I could speak.

_House Redoran prizes the virtues of Duty, Gravity, and Piety._

_A Redoran's duty is first to the Tribunal Temple, second to the Great House Redoran, and third to one's family and clan._

_A Redoran noble must know the virtue of gravity. Gravity is the essential seriousness of life. Life is hard, and events must be judged, endured, and reflected upon with due care and earnestness. It is not the Redoran way to laugh at serious matters, for it shows disrespect._

_Piety is respect for the gods and virtues they represent. A light, careless life is not worth living._

When I was young, these words were just that, words. I knew how important they were for my father. But for me they did not mean anything. When I was just a kid I didn't care for being loyal to whatever god or clan. As a matter of fact I did not care for gods at all.

Only now, as I grow older and have been through more, do these words make sense to me.

I was told it did not shock my mother when she was told of my father's believes and duties. I was told she did not quite care he killed for the god he believed in. As a matter of fact, my father always insisted with a broad grin that I was created on the very night he told her.

Father took his first duty quite seriously. The Tribunal Temple believe in three gods; Almalexia, Sotha Sil and Vivec. The only important one for my father was Vivec.

Perhaps I should tell a bit more about this god, as it is unlikely a non-Dunmer as yourself would know a lot about him.

Vivec is the most popular of the three Tribunal. He is the benevolent king, guardian warrior, poet artist. While he is considered beautiful, sensitive and compassionate, his other side holds dark components of violence and lust.

Which is not strange considering the stories that weave him and Mephala together.

The Dunmer see her as the goddess of lies, sex and murder. She sees the affairs of mortals as a weave; pull one thread and the rest responds. She interferes with the business of mortals for mere amusement.

It is also said she is the Anticipation of Vivec. The key to it all.

When the Morag Tong was banished from the rest of Tamriel, they were allowed to continue to operate in Morrowind on the condition they replaced their worship of Mephala with that of Vivec. As a reaction to this the Dark Brotherhood was formed.

The tricky part is that my father's family worshipped none other than the Webspinner. Simply said, they did not keep their first Duty at all. They never worshipped Vivec nor any of the other two. No, they were still bound to Mephala and by this... to the Patron of the Dark Brotherhood, Sithis.

Sithis was said to be a son of Mephala, and others claim he even is the Deadric Prince. Another story goes that he was the huge black nothingness that existed before creation.

While the exact details do not really matter, point is, my father and his family were followers of Sithis and some of their children would be presented to the Dark Brotherhood to serve him. Father was one of those.

Ever since his birth he was trained to become an assassin and to shed blood for the Void.

His little trip to Anvil was merely to finish a contract. He was to kill a man who betrayed some high up noble. Father followed him all across Cyrodiil until he finally finished his duty in Anvil. Where the poor man fell in love and the first steps for my creation were taken.

Several weeks later a messenger arrived ordering my father to return to Blacklight. He promised my mother he would visit her at home and even meet her family. So much for being a Dunmer who hates foreigners.

He did keep his promise though. He simply told his family what had happened and although they did not like the girl being a Bosmer, it was a fact they could overlook for once. He never was disrespectful and never left a contract unfinished. They figured he deserved a reward. So he returned to visit her and was shocked by the little bundle of doom that was presented to him. No, he was apparently so shocked by my existence he almost dropped me.

The first year of my life I lived in that simple village with my parents. But a year appeared to be the limit for my father. He had abandoned his family, clan and House. He no longer had any way to worship Mephala or Sithis. Life was not hard. Quite the opposite; it was light and careless. In all his happiness he forgot the three things that shaped him.

So a year in my life and he returned to Morrowind, visiting every once in a while, crossing all of Cyrodiil when doing so.

I grew up. The careless life of a Bosmer. I was taught the name and qualities of every plant that exists. A bow was made for me as soon as I started walking. Even the knowledge of mixing ingredients and creating potions or poisons was shared with me at this young age.

Every time my father visited I had something new to show him, or make him proud at how much I improved. I remember my life revolved around those visits. How I always felt so proud as he messed with my hair and grinned at me. "I should start to get scared of you, eh Kasha?"

The other reason why I always waiting so anxiously for those visits was to be with someone like me. Partly like me, at least. I was a half-breed, filthy blood.

Valenwood and its Bosmer never trusted other races after the many times they had been forced to defend themselves and their lands. Therefore they stuck together, not mingling with any other race.

The Dunmer are perhaps the most ethnocentric inhabitants of Tamriel. They look down on anyone not born in Morrowind. Dunmer never have any sort of romantic relationship with any other race, because it is simply too different.

The fact I am both makes my life a bit harder.

My skin is as black as the Ashlands, completely Dunmer. I also stood taller than any of my age, once again indicating my Dark Elf blood.

So I almost begged my father to take me with him when he went back. I wanted to see if perhaps in Morrowind I fitted in more.

As I turned seven he came to visit me on my birthday. It was a rare thing. He never had the time to visit me on exactly that day. Crossing Cyrodiil couldn't be done in a few days and so he usually visited when he was on a job. This time, however, he came just for me.

"_Kasha, would you like to come back with me? My, no... Our family would like to meet you."_

The grin on my face never dropped during our trip back. Not even when I fell off my horse and almost drowned in the Strid River.

But immediately upon arrival in Morrowind the grin was finally washed away.

Before my eyes two huge and beautiful oaks were killed and cut in pieces. I remember sitting in my saddle shaking and fighting the tears. I didn't understand why anyone would do that to such a magnificent form of life.

Not only that, but the Dunmer around me looked so different. I had seen my father, but these people were just so much... not like me.

My eyes are as blue as the sky on a cloudless day. Which did not exactly fit in. My face and features are too soft and round for them to be Dunmer and that makes my mother's side even more obvious.

And even if all these differences wouldn't have given away I was different, I overlooked one major factor.

My hair. I kept it short and messy, unlike the strict and straight way all Red-eyes had it. But that wasn't the problem.

Perhaps Mephala found it funny to make me look like a tree, joking about my Bosmer blood. My hair is the brightest green you'll ever see any leaf be.

It was something I had gotten used to and I no longer thought about it. The uptight inhabitants of Morrowind found it hilarious though. My grandfather took one look at me, raised his eyebrow and turned away.

The rest of my family greeted me with more joy and love. No one spoke about my hair though. Not until a cousin who turned out to be two days younger than me came up to me and pointed at my head.

"Why do you look like a tree?"

"Lloros! Mind your manners!" His mother glared at him.

My father suddenly started laughing and ruffled my hair.

"Kasha's as much Bosmer as Dunmer, you know? I think the resemblance to a tree only makes it fair with our skin colour. Right kid?"

He winked at me and I grinned back.

"Yeah."

Lloros and I became each other's best friends and rivals within a week.

I was a better archer for he had barely touched a bow before. My knowledge of nature send him gaping at me every time we went venturing outside the city.

He was a better swordsman and his control of magic had _me_ gaping.

We were the exact same length and our many wrestle matches showed we were also the same strength. Within no time our main purpose was to beat the other at everything. We taught each other when we were in a good mood, and fought each other when we weren't.

Although we never managed to beat the other on their own areas, we came close.

In the year I resided in Blacklight made me feel more at home than the seven years in Valenwood. For me the constant competition and the challenge the Dunmer gave their children was better than the relaxed way the Bosmer went about with their children.

Their disrespect for nature still shocked me from time to time and the fact they barely laughed made me feel weird for a grin was sketched on my face when I was born.

Two weeks before I would turn eight we started packing for our journey.

The departure was tearful, mostly on mine and Lloros' parts. I promised I would come back to kick his ass, even if it would be after many years. He promised he would wait for that day and be ready to defeat me at my own game.

I was sad to leave but the anxiety to see my mother again drove me forward fast. Too fast in fact, for when we arrived I crashed in my mother's arms... and fell asleep almost immediately.

When I woke up, the sun was gone and my parents were quietly talking. I kept my eyes closed and ears wide open. Those words muttered then are still scarred in my mind till this day. It were those words that set my future.

"The family thinks it would be the best thing to do. I told them I'm not sure, but they practically ordered me."

"You want my child, who is barely eight years old, to become a 'Servant of Sithis'? You, or me even, never explained who this god of yours is. How do you expect Kasha to understand it all and give everything to become a_ murderer_?"

Father sighed and it remained silent for a while.

"My family wishes it and I can only comply." When he finally spoke his voice sounded strangled and uncharacteristically soft en vulnerable. "... born under the right stars. Kasha has shown to have every attribute needed and more. Father says.."

My mother soft sobs kept me from hearing the rest of his words. As a matter of fact, I didn't hear anything else until my mother shrieked out the last words about the matter.

"... Take away!?"

'_They can't take me away!'_

I remember panic clouding my mind. My mother, who always smiled and never showed it if she was sad or in pain, was crying! My father wanted me to serve this... Sithis person. And they would take me away!

My small fists trembled as I clenched them. I bit my teeth in my lower lip and shrugged the blanket off.

The small action drew the attention of both of my parents. I sat up and they looked at me without speaking a word, shock evident in their eyes.

"I don't want to go away..."

My mother jumped up, ran to me and hugged me so hard I thought I would choke. "I love you Kasha. Don't forget, okay?"

Her hands ran through my hair and she kept murmuring soft things in my ear. I looked at my father over her shoulder. He didn't smile and even the small lights in his eyes weren't there. He looked away.

I didn't realise it then. Back then I thought I the fact I would be "taken away", whatever that meant, was the worst part. I didn't know what would be expected of me or why I would be taken away. I just didn't want to be away from my family.

After all... I was 8 years old at the time. My mind could have never imagined I would be trained to become a killer. To take lives simply because someone decide that they should be taken. It is only now I know what my parents meant. Only now do I see neither of them wanted me to live this life.

The next day I wasn't taken away. The day after that, no one came for me either. Or the rest of the week. The week after that. The month after that. My parents never talked about that night again.

For the next three years no one came and my father didn't leave.

He trained me in the things I was weak at. My skills with the sword and with magic. He would wake me up before the sun came up and train with me until after the sun set again. The days he didn't train me my uncle perfected my handling of the bow and my mother took me out more often to teach me about nature and all the gifts it presents to you.

Before I knew it I was a hunter, alchemist, fighter, magician. Even then it didn't hit me. I just thought that perhaps I needed those skills in my life.

I was eleven and returned from a successful hunt, two rabbits on a string hanging over my broad shoulder. I stepped into the clearing and was amazed. A stranger, Dunmer, sat in front of my house in deep conversation with my father. I figured perhaps it was a family member I didn't meet at my stay in Morrowind.

Everyone seemed to keep their distance. The usual crowded centre around which the houses stood was almost empty. Those few who walked around shot secret looks towards the two Dark Elves.

I frowned and made my way towards my home. The two men looked up. One immediately sported a sadder look than I had ever seen him have and the other started grinning wide and looked happy, enthusiastic perhaps.

"Kasha, this is Ureval. He is a brother of mine and he will be taking care of you from now on."

The man stood and ruffled my hair. "Nice to meet ya, kid."

My frown deepened. _No one_ but by father was allowed to touch my hair. And _no one_ but my father was allowed to call me kid. I ignored him and fixed my gaze on my father.

"How do you mean, taking care of me?"

"He will explain everything on the way. Your mother and I already packed all of your stuff you will need. She is just picking up the last things so when she gets back here you are ready to leave."

"Where am I going?"

"As I said Ureval will explain it all on the way. Now, behave and greet him properly."

My gaze shifted and I shot him a killer look. "Greetings and salutations, Dunmer. I hope your journey was without troubles?" My voice dripped with venom.

He didn't seem to notice, though. He just nodded and kept on grinning. I wanted to tear it off. A Dark Elf didn't grin like that nor did they ignore such a obvious show of hostility.

"Nice to meet you Kasha. My trip here was quite uneventful. Boring to be honest." He broke out in loud laughter that echoed between the trees.

'_What an idiot. Dunmer my ass. I doubt he's born in Morrowind.'_

Before I had the chance to reply my mother suddenly stood beside me.

She took my hand a pressed a cold metal thing in it. "Wear it with pride. May it protect you from all harm and lead your way." She let go of my hand and instead pulled me closer to hug me.

I opened my hand and looked at the item in it over her shoulder.It was a necklace. A necklace shaped in the form of a leaf. I cracked a grin and suddenly tears started streaming down my face.

'_Why am I crying?'_

I didn't know. I could not stop because I did not know. Why did these tears bother me when I didn't even know what was going on? What _was_ going on?!

My father suddenly embraced both of us. "Kasha. If you're in trouble and you think you can't push any further... remember that I did the same and that it made me in the person I am. I want to be proud of you, so always finish what you started and always be the best.

"Promise me. Promise to make me proud."

I made my fatal mistake right there.

I wanted nothing more than to make my father proud of me. I wanted nothing more than become more like the person he was. So I promised him. I gave him my word to do the best I could to make him happy. To do what _"they"_ expected of me. So I signed my very own contract of death.

"Yeah, Father. I promise."

---

_AN: So. Hope the invisible readers enjoyed it. And, if you happen to not be a ghost and get that counter of the zero hits, I thank you greatly. It means something if at least one person bothers to read my fic~_

_If you're not invisible:  
Hope you enjoyed this relatively boring chapter, but it's some info that's pretty vital for the rest of the fic. Thanks for reading._


	3. Chapter 2

"So where are you taking me?"

After hours of listening to his nonsensical blabbering I finally had enough. My little interruption worked as he actually shut his mouth and looked at me in surprise.

"Heh, I was beginning to think you couldn't talk, kid."

I gritted my teeth in annoyance and repeated my question.

"We'll be crossing Elsweyr first to pick up a Shadowscale a bit older than you who lives in Leyawiin. Then we will go up all the way to the Jerall Mountains. You're going to be living in the most north-eastern part of Cyrodiil. Almost on the borders of Skyrim and Morrowind."

"What is a Shadowscale?" The question suddenly popped up as I went over his words again.

Again he gave me look of utter surprise. "You don't know?" He giggled.

My toes curled in my shoes as I felt like punching him off his horse. If he was counting on me to be the "cute, little, harmonic Wood Elf" he was running out of luck. Even Bosmer with a short temper existed.

"They are Argonians who are born under the sign on the Shadow. The hatchlings are taken and presented to us. We take them in, train them and when they're full-grown we take them in as full members of our family. Just like you if you prove to be worth enough." He giggled again.

I tightened my grip on the reigns and once again gritted my teeth. I wanted to know who "we" were. But somehow I doubted the answer was worth having him giggle again. Or even open his mouth to answer me.

Just my luck he didn't need any encouragement to talk.

"So... What are you expecting of this?" He shot me a lopsided grin.

"Since I have no idea who you are or where you're taking me, I don..."

"You don't know!"

This time it was my turn to look surprised. I blinked and slowly shook my head. As if it was my fault no one told me anything.

Ureval huffed and finally the grin was gone. "Well kid, hold on to your horsy then. I can't believe your father didn't tell you anything. He even took you with him to present you to his family. That boy..." He grumbled and shortly looked at me.

Now that he wasn't surrounded by a joking air I could see the deep pools in his eyes. I could see they went deep, but couldn't look into them because they were closely guarded. A shiver ran up my spine.

"I'm Dark Brotherhood. Just like your father and just like about half of you family. We worship the Void, Sithis. He is our patron and we serve him till our dying breath."

I honestly thought my heart stopped beating then. Dark Brotherhood? Murderers who killed for no reason. I was to be a part of that!

Another thought hit me. _"Just like your father and just like about half of you family". _Father... Father was... a killer? A... a person without honour? That wasn't how I knew him! He had nothing else _but_ honour! He served his family and his clan. He would give his life to do so!

My head began spinning.

The Dark Brotherhood... they called themselves a family, right? Their members did their job until they dropped dead. That.. that meant...

"I see you realised what your precious daddy is." His grin was back.

This time I didn't stop myself. I flung myself from my horse, straight at him.

"YOU'RE LYING!"

I successfully knocked him from his saddle and we landed on the ground with a hard crash. As I felt the tears streaming down my face again, I aimed my tiny fists at his head.

"DON'T SAY THAT ABOUT FATHER!"

It couldn't have lasted longer than a few seconds. Before I knew it my face was pressed in the mud and my arms painfully twisted behind my back.

"Be very careful of what you say or do next." His voice was close to my ear and frighteningly low and dangerous.

"I will teach you something, kid. Don't ever forget what I tell you now."

The grip on my arms tightened even further.

"I am to be your trainer for the next few years. For until you prove yourself worthy, to be exact. I decide what happens to you. I decide if you live or die. You do anything I don't like, I will return the favour. And trust me, you don't want that.

"Your father was years younger than you when he came to us for training. I was only there a year before he came. Your old man is like a brother to me. Not only because we are through the Brotherhood, but just because I feel that way. So don't make me hurt you. I wouldn't want to do that to him.

"As for you... I don't care about you. Prove to me you are as special as he claims you to be, and perhaps I will in the future. Until then... don't ever call me a liar or attack me again. Whatever I say will be your truth. Whatever I do, you will love and completely agree with. Understood?"

"Ye-yeah."

With another push he let go. I slowly sat up and spit the mud out of my mouth. With shaking hands I tried to clean my face as good as possible.

"Get up." He loomed over me and grabbed me by my collar, hauling me up.

In his other hand he held the reign of my horse. It seemed they just stopped walking when they lost their passengers. I swallowed and climbed in the saddle.

His face was twisted in an angry scowl as he got on his horse and gave it a kick in the side. It shot off and I followed, fighting my tears.

My world was shattered at that moment. As was my heart.

My father, the person who I always looked up to and almost worshipped as a god, was nothing more than a killer. He had kept this major part of his life a secret... Even when he took me with him to Morrowind it was for no other reason than to let _them_ inspect me, see if I had what it took.

Even my mother never told me anything. No one ever did. I was just the little kid that had to be kept in the dark and just do as they're told. What was I worth to them when they couldn't tell me something this important?

I never realised or thought that my parent had been protecting me. After all, who would tell a child that they were going to grow up to murder. Oh yeah, by the way, your father does it as well.

But no... I just saw it as a betrayal by my parents. Don't get me wrong, I still loved them to pieces. I just felt insecure that they never really cared for me.

They send me away with this man who just hurt me and shoved my face in the mud. The fact I attacked him first didn't matter. You shouldn't treat an eleven year old like that.

I flinched as he slowed his horse to ride next to me.

"Don't look like that. You make me feel like a bad guy."

'_You are a bad guy.'_

I sniffed but kept my gaze averted and my mouth shut.

He let out a sigh and reached out his hand towards me. I made myself even smaller than before and looked at him from the sides of my eyes. I softly whimpered as his hand touched the top of my head.

"Kid. I won't hurt you if you just behave. Don't act like this. If your father had just explained everything this wouldn't even have happened. Stick with me for now and trust me. If you just do that, everything will be alright. Don't try to run away."

The thought of running away hadn't even crossed my mind. I promised Father I would listen and keep going. I didn't intend on breaking my promise so soon.

Ureval seemed to get I wouldn't be responding any time soon and drove his horse forward again.

"Just keep up with me then."

Which was exactly what I did for the next two weeks. When we crossed the border with Elsweyr we left our horses at a stable and continued to walk.

The journey through the land of the Khajiit was long and uneventful. For me it was heaven on earth. Everywhere around me grew plants and lived animals I only knew from books and stories.

I didn't speak another word to Ureval during the entire trip. Every day he woke me up before sunrise and we walked on until the sun was at its highest point. Then we found a place to camp, or an inn, and stayed in our rooms until we left again the next day.

At least, I did. Ureval ate something and then left. He wouldn't return until the sun was long gone. It were short days which left me with enough time to sneak out when he was gone and look around, examining all the new plants and animals I found nearby.

I learned a lot during those couple of weeks. The pages of my journal, my mother gave it to me when I left so I could write down everything I learned, were quickly filled.

Although I had calmed down during those two weeks, I still hadn't spoken another word. We communicated... but I never used words. I had grown to like that silence and didn't see a reason to change it.

Upon entering Leyawiin, Ureval immediately headed towards the closest inn. Before stepping inside he made me hide my face with my hood.

"If anyone sees your eyes they will remember. We don't want that. It might put your life at stake later in your life."

He nodded contently when I lowered the hood and stuck out my tongue at him.

"Yeah, now you look just like any other teenage brat." He cuffed the back of my head and entered the inn. It took me a second to follow him and when I entered he was already in conversation with the owner.

"...very well. Room number two, just near the entrance. If you need food or drink, let me know."

Ureval gave the lady his most charming smile and steered me towards the right room.

The entire new experience gave me enough reason to lift my silence.

"Was that an Argonian?"

He raised an eyebrow but nodded. "You never seen one before?"

"Ah, no. In Valenwood there's only us and a lost Khajiit comes by every once in a while. When Father took me to Blacklight we stayed of the roads. I didn't see anyone then. Father told me it's not uncommon for Dunmer to keep Khajiit or Argonian slaves but I didn't see any when I was there."

"So basically you never saw any other race than the two you are and those big cats?"

I frowned. "I think I saw an Imperial once. But no one ever comes to visit us and my Father's family lives on the edge of Blacklight. The only times I was allowed to leave the grounds was when we went to the forest. I can't help it , you know."

Ureval chuckled and ruffled my hair through the hood.

"I never said it was." He grinned at me. "You're a lot more fun when you talk, you know?"

I just glared back.

"Go get some sleep. I'll be back in a while with the Shadowscale. We'll be leaving at midnight so don't sneak out as you've done before."

With a meek nod from my side he left.

How in Y'ffre's name had he known I sneaked out? Every time I did, I had been sure he was long gone and not watching me. There was no way he could have noticed. No way.

I decided I would ask him later and followed his advice to sleep. Quickly I pulled of my boots and outer clothing and let myself fall down in the bed. He was a fool for not resting, but I had no intention of following that example. I fell asleep within minutes.

A bucket of cold water on my head woke me up after a couple hours though. With a soft yelp I sat up straight and tried to identify my attacker. No surprise who that was though.

My eyes desperately tried to kill him and wipe that arrogant grin from his face. They miserably failed as he only started to laugh loudly. The Argonian next to him averted her gaze.

"That look on your face is priceless, kid." He wiped the tears from his eyes. "But no matter how entertaining you are, I don't have the time to hang around here. You get dressed and get to know this little missy here. I expect both of you at the North East gate, _with_ a horse. I don't care how you manage, just get one."

With a meaningful nod he turned around and closed the door behind him. I was left standing there, my clothes soaked and my eyes still burning.

"I won't kill you if you laugh, you know?"

It was all she needed and a light giggle left her mouth.

With a loud sigh I took off my underclothing, drying them with a spell. I put them on once they were dry again and fished my heavy outer clothing from the floor. As I flopped down on the bed to put on my boots I looked up at her.

"So, what's your name?"

"Nu...Nurash. Ca-can I ask your name?"

I grinned and jumped up. "It'd be rude of me not to introduce myself, wouldn't it? The name is Kasha. Nice to meet you. It's good to have another face to look at besides his." I nodded at the door.

She giggled softly again. I couldn't help but smile as I flung my pack over my shoulders.

"You ready to go?"

When she nodded I lowered my hood and left the Inn. If I remembered correctly we passed a stable when we entered Leyawiin at first. I decided it would be worth a try.

We stood in front of the 'Fiver Riders Stables', or so I read from the sign, and looked at each other. It was dark, the only person we could see was a guard near the gate and it was slowly starting to rain.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I whispered softly.

"We-we can't do that! There's a guard over there!" She whispered back with wide open eyes.

I shrugged and grabbed her hand. I pulled her with me near the two horses waiting outside. Instead of opening the fence I walked on, past the entire field. When we were past it completely I let go of her hand and told her to wait right there.

I quickly climbed over the fence. Dropping into a crouch I made my way towards the horses. Once next to the grey I slowly stretched out my arm and stroked its neck. It turned its head towards me and stared at me.

"Heya. You mind coming with me?" I whispered, never breaking eye contact. It snorted softly but bent its neck. I kept patting it while I slowly walked back to Nurash, leading the horse with me. It snorted again, louder this time, when I let it go and turned my eyes to Nurash.

"Get on. Don't worry, it will keep quiet."

She didn't seem as if she believed me but nodded anyway. I went back again and repeated the process with the paint horse. Once we both got on I lead the way north, to round the city and end up at the North East gate.

Nurash was visibly relieved. She smiled at me as soon as we were sure the guard couldn't see us anymore.

"S-so... you're a Dark Elf? From…from Morrowind?"

With a raised eyebrow I shook my head. "There are no Dunmer with blue eyes. Geh..." I huffed. "And there are also no Dunmer who are able of not scaring animals away. I'm a born Bosmer, although my father comes from Morrowind."

She let out an excited squeal I had not expected. "Was that your beast tongue power then?"

I blinked and shook my head again. "That's just knowing how to deal with animals. It would be stupid to use it because the effects will wear off after a while."

"O-oh." She actually sounded disappointed.

"I can show it to you later though. If you want. But first we need to get to Ureval before he gets angry."

We crossed the water and arrived at the gate. Ureval was already there, seated on a black horse.

He gave us a surprised look but grinned. "Two horses, eh? That's more than I expected. Well done, kiddies. Now let's go. We have a lot of travelling to do."

He turned his horse and drove off. Nurash smiled at me thankfully. I winked back and followed Ureval.

It was the middle of the night and all of us stayed quiet during the hours we rode. We stopped every couple hours, giving the horses a small brake as well as Nurash who had never ridden this long before.

It was foggy, which was as annoying as it slowly made our clothes and packs heavy, but it also hid us from the many bandits we could easily hear hiding behind the bushes. We slowly rode on, not looking for a fight.

The moment the sun started to chase the fog away Ureval nodded at me and sped up his horse.

"Listen up kiddies. To make sure we're not followed or drawing attention to ourselves, we'll only be riding at night. There's an Inn close by and we'll sleep there."

It turned out to be an Inn somewhere in the middle of nowhere, called the "Imperial Bridge Inn" that was in every way surrounded by bandits. Ureval fired paralysation spells at them before they saw us and we raced through until the safety of the inn.

He ordered us to take care of the horses, that was, bind them to the fence. We did and followed him in several minutes later. He immediately ushered us to go up the stairs. All the way up he put his finger for his mouth, making sure we kept quiet.

"Listen carefully," He whispered. "As you can see, this is not the safest place to talk."

Obviously. The beds were on the top floor, which was made up of a couple of boards with cracks between them big enough to put your foot through. You could easily see the people on the floor below, and since there were no wall between the stairs from that floor to the ground one, if you talked too loudly the entire inn could hear you.

"So I have to urge you to not speak too much. Go to sleep now and make sure you are ready to leave quickly. We will no longer be following the paths from now on, so we'll leave the horses here. I'll wake you two up when the sun starts setting. Any questions?"

"How 'bout food?"

He frowned and poked my forehead. "I'll bring some up in a minute. You two take the beds at the far end, I'll take the one near the stairs."

We nodded and starting getting ready to sleep.

"Do you know where we're going?" Nurash whispered softly as I flopped down on my bed.

I turned to look at her and shook my head. "Neh. He hasn't told me anything really." I whispered back.

She frowned. "Bu-but haven't you been travelling like a long time together?"

"Two weeks." I replied with a soft snort. "And I stopped talking to him on the first day."

"Oh."

Both of us remained quiet until Ureval came up with our food.

"Here ya go kiddies." He tossed both of us a piece of bread and an apple. "I'll be going around for a stroll, you two stay right here, got it?"

He didn't wait for an answer but hopped down the stairs again.

With a roll of my eyes I bit down into the bread.

AN: This is the very unedited chapter two. Don't know if I'll ever get to editing these things or just keep throwing them online for the 4 people who read it.

I got a question for you. What do you guys think of the length of the chapters? Is this the right size, too long, too short? I'm asking because well... there didn't really happen anything in this chapter because it was actually written together with the first and the next chapter. So I'm wondering if you prefer these boring chapters over longer chapters that might be less boring. I dunno. I prefer long chapters but I know some people don't.... so yeah. Unless you let me know I'll just keep this size up I guess.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thanks for reading.

Bye bye~


	4. Chapter 3

Still half asleep I dragged my feet over the path, following the old guy and making half-assed notes in my map book. The sun had just set and the path was now cloaked in the shadows. The moons shone their soft light, guiding us somewhat.

I yawned again and looked at the Argonian newbie from the corner of my eyes. She seemed to be wide awake and was happily stepping along. Well, happily besides the fact she tripped over almost every loose rock laying on the path. I couldn't help but grin slightly. My eyes had a natural night vision, but I also figured something out the first night after I left my village.

The necklace with the silver leaf at the end, was in fact an amulet. My mother had told me to always wear it so it could lead the way. I didn't expect it would actually do so. But the amulet made sure I could see just as well in the dark as in the light. I had a suspicion it was also a amulet that would enable me to see to living things, but so far I had only been able to use it for that cause if I held the leaf in my hand.

As we neared a bridge, Ureval lead us of the road, following the river north. We kept on the high ground, not daring to walk near the water itself. The man lightly stepped over rocks and plants, almost whistling from joy. Next to me, on the other hand, Nurash had stopped looking so happy. She kept tripping over every little obstacle in the way. Ureval didn't seem to notice the trouble she was having and kept the pace high.

When we reached a bend in the river he actually whistled for a second and with a loud "Aha!" he skidded down the slope towards the water. Nurash desperately clung to my arm as we followed him. When we got down, he was standing on a landing stage grinning at a small boat that was tied to it.

"I'm sorry." She whispered softly as she let my arm go. "I'm...I'm not usually this bad, you know? It's just... I mean..."

"Hmm, you were suddenly taken from your family and forced to go along with us, even though you didn't want to?"

She shook her head. "I was taken away from my family as a hatchling already. I'm just a bit scared of where we're going, and what's going to happen. I-I was born for this, bu-but still..."

"Are you two ever going to come here, or what?" Ureval's voice echoed over the river.

"Don't worry, kay? We just have to stick together." I smiled at her and then dragged her along to him.

He stuck his tongue between his teeth and smiled. "Come on. You can walk around the edge if you don't want to get in the boat, but don't blame me if you fall in the water."

With a glare from my side, we all got into the little boat. He pushed us off and handed both of us an paddle.

"Row, row, row your boat..."

"Ureval?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"What am I supposed to do with this thing?"

"Row, row, row your boat!"

My eye twitched as I turned to look at him. "I'm a tree person. Not a water person. What am I supposed to do with this thing?"

Nurash giggled and took the paddle from my hand.

"Let me do it then."

Ureval smiled broadly at her. "See, that's a smart girl."

As she rowed us over, I wondered how he knew exactly where to go and how he even knew there was a boat here.

"Hmm?"

"I didn't even say anything!"

"Your face did though. What you want to ask?" He grinned at me.

"How often do you make this trip?"

"Eh..." He sighed and scratched the top of his head. "Well, picking two recruits up to bring them home, not very often anymore. I certainly don't travel all the way to Falinesti for some little kid every day. Butteh... most Shadowscales are handed over to us in Leyawiin and I used to be the one in charge of getting them to us. I don't do that anymore though."

He closed one eye and looked at me with the other one.

"But picking you up was a good opportunity to visit my old brother again. It has been ages since I'd seen him."

"Geh." I huffed. "He didn't seem too happy seeing you though."

He overdramatically clasped his hand over his heart. "You wound me little Kasha. Such cruelty was not what I expected from you happy tree huggers folk."

My reply was interrupted by the boat hitting the bank.

"Why thank you, miss Nurash. Seems you're worth more than our Bosmer friend after all."

I frowned at him again and was the first to get off the boat. In front of us were wooden steps leading up the hill. He stepped past me and began climbing up.

"Come one. We might be halfway now, but the hardest part is yet to come."

I shared a look with Nurash. "Great."

We trailed after him, keeping our distance. Nurash tried her hardest no to let us notice she was having a lot of trouble in the dark. So we didn't let her see we did notice. When the steps ended at a farm and the path we were supposed to be following disappeared, I softly grabbed her hand. If she had so much trouble on a path, I didn't want to know what would happen on a steep slope.

Startled, she looked at me with wide open eyes.

"I told you" I whispered softly. "We'll stick together."

The journey continued. We climbed over rocks and fallen trees, skidded down slopes and fought our way back up at the other side. I tried my hardest helping Nurash get through. She, and I with her, nearly ended up at the bottom of the mountain several times. Every time we did it seemed like I could have well just pushed her off, judging by the defeated look on her face.

As the sun started rising and the walls of a city finally appeared before us, her shoulders were slumped and eyes focussed on the ground.  
Ureval hadn't spoken to us the entire night. Hadn't even looked around to see how we were doing. But now he stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

"Cheydinal. You'll get acquainted with it soon enough." He stared at the walls for a minute. "you know what? It's only a half a day track from here on. You two go in, look around or something, find an inn. I'll come back to pick you up tomorrow morning. 24 hours. That should give you enough time to rest. Tonight has been rough enough."

He unhooked a bag from his belt and tossed it at me.

"Take care." He said with a meaningful look at the Argonian who was still staring down. Then he turned and marched off.

"Just great." I muttered darkly.

"C'mon, Nurash. I really want to get some sleep." I tapped her shoulder. She turned to me with a start. "Ye-yeah?"

I rolled my eyes and followed the road towards the city.

"Where... where are you going?"

"If you had paid attention," I shouted over my shoulder "And hadn't been feeling so incredibly sorry for yourself, you'd have known."

She hurried to my side. It seemed she wanted to say something but instead her eyes flickered to the ground again. In silence we rounded the city walls until we came across a gate. The guard raised an eyebrow as he saw us approach.

"Where's the journey going to kiddies?"

"Ehm, well. Ehm..." I looked at Nurash for help but she avoided my eyes. "Well, you see."  
I grimaced. "M-my uncle! Ehm...he...he... there's an inn that we should...ehm...Dark elf..."

"Ah! You're here to see miss Romalen? That makes sense." Suddenly the look on his face became a whole lot kinder. He signed up and the gate slowly started opening. With a smile he pointed ahead.

"Over there. That's Newlands Lodge. You'll find her inside. And tell your uncle it's not safe to let kids like yourself wander about so early in the morning."

I answered with a meek nod and a thank you.

We entered the city and he wave at us through the closing gate. True to his word, on the left we found the inn. Inside the inn it was, not too surprising for the time of day, peacefully quiet.  
Feeling small and slightly scared, I shuffled towards the proprietess.

"Ca-can we get a room, please?"

The lady blinked before leaning over the counter.

"What are two kids like you doing all alone? Ran away from home?"

I kept my eyes averted. "Can we just get a room, please?"

"Your parents must be worried." She said with a click of her tongue.

"Oh, just give them a room, Dervera. Their parents most likely sold them to Ureval. Give 'em a break."A hand as heavy as the voice flopped on my head.

"That true, kid?" The woman asked with an amused grin.

"No." I huffed. "My parents wouldn't sell me to anyone. And I don't know who that person is, anyway."

The owner of the hand that was still on my head erupted in loud laughter. I tried to look at him but my hood obscured the view.

"The only time kids come in a Dark Elf bar is when Ureval brings them. What'd you do with him?"

"He took off."

"Nurash!" I hissed at her.

"What? He did, didn't he?" She looked at me with flaring eyes.  
We stared at each other until Dervera tapped us both on the nose.

"I don't mind the adults fighting, but children ought to behave themselves. Somehow I doubt you really need to worry that much. I don't think Ureval will get angry at you if he knows you're with him. As Magub said, all children we ever see in here are tagging along with that guy. So don't worry, you." She raised an eyebrow at me. "Now, did he give you any money or should I make him pay later?"

I fished the bag he had given me earlier from my pack.

"He-he gave us some."

"Well, then. It's 10 gold for a room. Walk just up the stairs there, it's the door to the right."

Hesitantly I took out the coins and gave it to her. I turned and gaped up at the big green mass that stood behind me, Magub without a doubt. He stared back.

"Blue eyes..."

"_If anyone ever sees your eyes they will remember. We don't want that. It might put your life at stake at a later time."_

"I-it's only the light here sir."

Panicking I shrugged my hood further over my eyes, grabbed Nurash and practically sprinted towards the room. As I threw the door shut behind me, she drew her lips back.

"What was that all about?"

I shook my head and didn't answer.

"Whatever." She sat down on the edge of the bed.  
We remained silent for a while, me bend over against the door with a racing heart and her staring blankly ahead. I didn't know why Ureval's words, spoken so carelessly, made me react this way.

"Are you familiar with other races?" I asked while straightening up.

Her eyes remained impassive. "I know their names, know where they come from. Saw some picture as well." The eyes turned to me. "Why do you ask?"

"That guy..." I finally drew my hood back. "You know, blue eyes? Dunmer always have red eyes. It's a curse placed on them by Azura." Running a hand through my hair, I walked towards the bed to and sat down next to the Argonian. "My hair can easily be dyed or covered up, but if anyone who knows sees a Dunmer with blue eyes, they'll remember."

At first she didn't respond, then she turned to face me. "But you said you're a Wood Elf, right?"

"A Bosmer with a dark skin is even more obvious. There's no way anyone will ever forget _that_."

"Ah." She nodded, finally less hostile. "But Kasha... how do you know you're more a Wood than a Dark Elf when you only look like a Dar...Dunmer?"

"It's like you said. I only look like a Dunmer. My talents and my magic, it's all Y'ffre. Father and me trained a lot to find out my limits and I have the Beast Tongue power but I can't call and Ancestor Guardian for protection. Battlemagic isn't my sort of magic, I seem more adapt to remembering the functions of alchemic ingredients. I-it's things like that."

Her brow furrowed slightly as she looked at me intensely. "Heh." She poked my cheek. "You're also a bit lighter. Compared to Ureval and that woman downstairs, anyway. Ureval walks like an assassin, calculating and sneaky but_ you_ walk as if you feel the ground. Also sneaky and... and almost invisible but with you it seems more natural. He has obviously learned how to walk like that and you..." she paused for a second, averting her eyes. "You just do it. So...so if anyone. If they looked careful enough they could see."

Dumbfounded I looked at my hand. To me it didn't differ to Ureval's colour. The difference with miss Rosmalen wasn't any more than any Dunmer differ from each other.  
"I think, Nurash, it's just you who can see that." I said slowly.

"Perhaps."

A silence fell between us again.

Several hours later I woke up, disturbed by a sound behind me. Cautiously I turned on my back pretending to still be asleep. Then with a startle what the sound was.

"Nurash." I turned on my side towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Why are you crying?"

The sniffing quieted down but she didn't answer.

"You can tell me, you know. I mean, it's not as if-"

"I-it's nothing, okay?" She shrugged my hand off. "Nothing of your concern anyway."

I rolled on my back again and stared at the ceiling. The light falling through the window, combined with the muffled sounds coming from outside the room, made me believe it was only a bit past noon.

"Didn't I tell you?" My voice was still hoarse from sleeping so I softly coughed. "I have no intention of leaving you alone. This entire thing is creeping me out to no end, so I'm going to need someone to hold on to during whatever is going to happen. If that person is crying it's most certainly my business. After all-"

Again she interrupted me. "You're scared?" She asked, disbelief coating her words. "The person without who I'd be lying dead at the bottom of some mountain, is saying they want to hold on to _me_. Very funny, Kasha."

"Nah, completely serious." I stretched, propping my arms underneath my had and kicked the covers away.

"Hey!" Nurash finally turned towards me, but I kept my gaze fixed on the ceiling.

"Ureval told me that you Shadowscale people are taken away from your homes when you're hatchlings. But I lived the last eleven years with my parents and the rest of my family. Then suddenly, a couple of weeks ago, this Dark Elf shows up and my father tells me this man will take care of me from now on. For you it might all me normal, for me it isn't. I'm scared of what is going to happen. I'm scared of what is expected of me." I looked at her. "I just want to go home."

Eyes flickered over my face. "I don't really think you need to worry." For the first time since that morning her voice had regained the soft and kind undertone. "You're strong, aren't you? You seem confident enough and... and you helped me without getting in trouble yourself. Besides, Ureval likes you. He'll help you if you _do_ get in trouble."

"Ureval hates my guts." I answered with a snort.

"Oh come one. He's acting if I don't exist, only ever talking to you. Last night, he didn't mind what happened to me but when you almost crashed down he was already conjuring up magic."

If he had, it had passed me completely. All I noticed that I was saved from plumbing to my death by a strategically placed tree, not a magical lasso around my waist. Not once had he looked around or even shown a sign of concern.

"Don't change the subject, Nurash." I said with a grin. "You might tell me I don't need to worry but if you don't hurry up and tell me what's wrong, I _can't_ tell you the same. Only hit you for not opening your mouth."

"But I-"

"No but. Tell me." Our eyes held a stare-contest for a second before hers turned away.

"I'm not like you. Although I have been training since I could swim, I'm not talented or strong. The usual age Shadowscales leave for Cyrodiil is 8. I'm already 12."

"That doesn't mean-"

"It does. Those half my age beat me in sparring matches and all instructors made fun of me." Her eyes started clouding up again. "The fact I'm born under the Shadow doesn't mean I'm fit for doing this. I'm useless."

Tears starting rolling down her cheeks. I sighed and pulled her into a hug. As I came into contact with the cold scales covering her body, my first instinct told me to let go. I didn't, and slowly I could feel the warmth underneath and the beating of her heart.

"Don't ever dare to say that again. You're not useless until I say you are."

She shortly laughed through her tears.

"I'm born under the Thief. It's my job to protect you then, isn't it? You'll let me cling to you and I'll protect you. How does that sound?"

Nurash sniffed and pressed her face in my neck. I laughed despite the initial shiver down my spine.

"What's you fighting style?"

"Ha...hand-to-hand."

"That's all? Nothing for long distance? Bow and arrow, magic?"

"Ju-just...just that."

"Okay. Then the first thing I'll do to protect you is teach you how to handle a bow. If I get the opportunity I might even make one for you. If anyone gives you trouble, I'll give _them_ trouble. We're friends now, yeah?"

I was pretending to be bigger than I was alright. Saying I was able to protect someone was different than actually being able to. I was still scared and I still wanted to go home. Had Nurash not been there to give me a reason to pretend I was strong, it would have been me in tears. But for now, I could pretend. I didn't know where we were going or what we were going to do there. If I ran into trouble there, I would fix it. No need to worry about it now.

So we drifted off to sleep again, waiting for Ureval to come and wake us.

_AN: So I present you the real chapter 3 after having chapter 2 on here twice. o_O_  
_Glad to see that no one noticed._

_Anyway, I have been incredibly busy and will probably be until June. So that explain why I haven't updated at all and it also explains why I probably won't for the next few months. I might finish Chapter 4, but that completely depends on whether I can find the time._

_Thanks for reading, though._


	5. Chapter 4

The pale light of the sun didn't seem to carry any warmth with it. I shivered and hid my hands deeper in the pockets of my pants. We left Cheydinal in the morning, going north. An hour in our track we left the road and continued in the same style as the night before. This time it was at least day, making it a bit easier to climb up the mountains. Then the clouds above seemed to have enough of it and slowly started spitting out white specks.

One had landed on my arm, making me yelp in surprise. It caused Ureval to stop walking and turn around to laugh at me. "The treehugger is afraid of some snow?"

I flushed red. "Valenwood! Valenwood! We don't have cold stuff falling from the sky!"

He snickered and pointed to the mountains ahead. "It's not just falling from the sky. It's also everywhere in those mountains. You better get used to it."

By the time I was getting annoyed again at the lack of paths we reached an Ayleid ruin which had a nice path going in our direction. Ureval followed it until we reached a big estate. Then a wide grin crept up his face and his pace quickened. Now we had been following the path for quite a while, I figured it would be two or three hours after noon.

"Ah. Home~"

He halted and stared up, goofy grin still in place. I tried to see what he did, but all I could make out in front of us were more mountains covered in snow. The look Nurash shot me said enough. Neither of us understood the joy some rock could bring.

I sighed when the man skipped along the path again, following the curve up. Then I suddenly saw what made him so happy; a door in the mountain, signalling a cave. All I thought about at that moment was that I hoped it was warmer in there than it was out in the cold.

The door creaked open. Happier than ever before Ureval bounced on and entered the cave. We followed with more caution.

"By Y'ffre!"

I quickly unsheathed my sword. In front of us were two enormous ogres, slowly blinking down on us. Ureval stood behind them and grinned.

"You might want to put that away again. These guys are trained to attack when someone attacks _them_."

My eyes flickered between the ogres and the man. I didn't trust either of them. I tensed when something touched my hand until Nurash' soft voice told me to listen to him. When I glanced at her, it was obvious that she was terrified. I sheathed my sword again and with a trembling Nurash hanging on my arm, I carefully stepped past the creatures and followed Ureval further into the cave.

The short passage we came from ended up in a big hall. In the middle was a natural platform and on the exact other side I could see another passage. Two passages also lay on both the left and right sides of the hall.

He led us towards the opposite one. When we reached a door, he told us to wait and walked on.

"Do you think this is our final destination?" Nurash whispered when his footsteps had faded away.

"I guess. It seems fitting for a group of assassins to be holed up in a cave." I paused. "And there wouldn't be tame ogres here to keep a stray adventurer away if there wasn't something important here."

She hummed in agreement before falling silent.

"What will happen now?"

"We'll most likely be given a place to sleep or something and then we'll be told what we're supposed to be doing here."

"But what if-"

"Nurash." I interrupted with a grin, turning my head to look at her. "I was only told that I was to join this organisation _after_ Ureval picked me up. I have never been here nor do I have any clue what we need to be doing here. You most likely know more than me so stop asking. We'll see eventually."

"...Sorry, Kasha."

I leaned back against the pillar that stood in the middle of the little hall we were in. Now that I thought about it, I knew nothing. My father had told me that Ureval would take care of me, and Ureval had told on this turn that I was to join the Dark Brotherhood.

"Nurash?"

She lifted her eyes at me.

"Do _you_ know what we're here for?"

"Are you the same person who just told me to shut up?" She smiled.

"I didn't tell you to shut up."

"So totally did." For once it was _her_ smirking at _me_.

"I told you to stop asking me stupid questions, that's different."

"Nuhuh. That's exactly the same."

"Shu-shut up!"

"See? You're doing it again!"

I punched her shoulder softly. "Just tell me if you know, already."

She chuckled. "Well, after the basic training in Black Marsh Shadowscales usually get taken here to get more advanced training. It wouldn't make sense to make kids like us do anything else here."

"Hmm." I nodded in agreement. "Why so far away though? All the way up in the mounta-"

"Because it toughens you up. Because you need to get used to the pain and the cold."

I jumped in shock.  
Behind us stood a tall unfamiliar longface. The grin on the High Elf's face could have even beaten the one on Ureval's face in radiance. Seeing the two together, shining in all their glory, made me slightly nauseous.

"Welcome to Kingscrest Cavern." He made a sweeping bow. "You've come at a rather fortunate time. Everyone is currently at home and just dying to meet you. We've already told your groupmates that you two are..." His eyes slid over us, assessing us. "..._slightly_ older then they are. They were happy to hear you would join them."

He clapped his hands. "But where are my manners? My name is Fainertil, and I take care that everything here happens as it should. As I always tell new kids, it's wise to keep on my good side." He smiled, but his eyes showed the same pools of darkness I had seen in Ureval the first day. A shiver ran down my spine.

"Oh? Are you cold, my dear child? Let's get you settled in then. These halls here are affected by the cold outside, but we have enchantments placed on the inner halls to keep the temperature nice and warm." He gently but firmly grabbed my wrist and marched off. Helplessly I stumbled after him, hearing the footsteps of Nurash and Ureval behind us.

Fainertil took the passage to the right, which led to a door. He finally let go of my arm and turned his back towards the door.

"Listen up, you two." He looked slightly more serious now. "Behind this door are the Chert Galleries. It's a set of halls which function basically as the living and sleeping area of all youngsters that live here. You will find many of your own age, but also older and younger. You have to realise that you two are...well. Not really worth anything yet. In the ranks of them all, you are without a doubt the lowest.

"We encourage friendly rivalry, as we think it is a perfect way to make you all improve your skills. The fact that you two join at a later age will most definitely make you perfect targets for this rivalry. You'd be wise to remember this. We wouldn't like you to get hurt on your first day here.

"Everything else you might want to know, will be explained to you first thing tomorrow. I can imagine you would like to get some rest now, after all the travelling you have done. I'll show you where you can get your sleep. Just remember that little detail."

With yet another smile, he pushed the door open. A wave of warmth hit us immediately and covered us like a blanket. I shivered as I finally warmed up a bit. Fainertil walked straight on, through the passage over to a big hall. He stopped in the entrance.

All noise coming from it quickly quieted down until you could hear a pin drop. Fainertil clapped his hands. "Listen up everybody. We have two new students who will we living here with us from now on."

His back blocked the view off the hall, but from a side passage others came pouring into the passage we were already in. Their assessing looks and cocky grins didn't mean anything good.

"They will both be joining the first year Harrada group, so could those please step forward?"

Two boys from behind us, probably years younger than we were, pushed past us and joined the line that was forming before Fainertil. The High Elf glanced over his shoulder and beckoned us. Nurash grabbed my arm but immediately let go again as we moved towards him. He smiled and pushed us in front of him, a hand resting on a shoulder of each of us.

"This is Nurash, who some of you might know already considering the fact she is from the kingdom of Argonia as are many of you. And this one is Kasha, from the beautiful garden of Valenwood. Please do take care of them. Ureval will be all sad if he had to travel all the way for nothing."

His words were only greeted by silence. A few of those in the line nodded, but most just looked at us as if we were crazy. Soft whispers sprung up in the back of the hall.

"Now, I will trust you will ensure your new group mates get a place to sleep. Don't start asking all sorts of questions immediately, they've travelled a long way to get here."

He patted my shoulder, turned on his heels and marched off. Ureval winked at me and followed with a little wave. I heard the door close seconds later. Immediately the volume exploded. One thing drew my attention more than any of the others, though. It was a tall Dunmer with a broad white grin bouncing towards us, pushing everyone else out of the way, and shouting my name.

"Kasha! Kasha! I didn't know you were going to get here so soon already!"

When he reaches us he quickly shoved our "group mates" out of the way to capture me in a crushing hug. Around us I heard shouts of people asking him how he knew us. Others shouted at us, asking us who we were coming here at such a late age.

Neither of the two got answers.

"Lloros." I greeted my cousin with a grin that could match his. "I didn't know I would meet you here."

"Ah, you crazy? Of course we would meet each other here. Destiny! Destiny! We finally get the chance to prove who of us is stronger!"

He grabbed my arm and pulled me along. "You guys don't mind if I take care of them, right? Okay, thanks." He asked without actually stopping to hear the answer.

Nurash hurried after us as Lloros pulled me along the cave, until we finally reached an abandoned smaller hall. He let go and sat down on a rock. The Argonian looked over her shoulder.

"Don't worry. No one will follow. They don't really care that much about new people here. Well, they do. But not after a tiring mission. They'll start harassing you tomorrow, I guess. Oh wait, I forgot something. Stay here, I'll be right back." He jumped up again and sprinted back the way we came.

I blinked and scratched my head.

"Did you get anything he said? He was talking too fast for me."

Nurash shook her head. "I was about to ask you the same thing. Bu-but Kasha... do you know him?"

With a sigh I sat down on the same rock Lloros had used as a chair before. "He's my cousin. From my father's side. I've been to Morrowind once a couple of years ago, and I met him there as well. I just didn't know he would be here."

I should have at least thought of the possibility, though. If I was forced to join because of my father, then why wouldn't other people from my family be?

Nearing feet announced the return of Lloros. When he rounded the corner he dragged three bedrolls with him. He grinned. "I figured you might want to spend your first night in peace and not together with that bunch of monkeys."

Soon enough we had laid them out on the little platform in the corner and ditched our packs and boots. After getting ourselves comfortable I finally bothered to look around. We were in a much smaller hall now than the one in which we met our group mates. The platform we were on, had the platform on our left and another one on the other side of the hall. Above there was apparently a hole that went all the way through the surface, because sunlight came pouring in through it. I knew I felt a lot more comfortable here than in a bigger hall.

"Lloros? Why is this one deserted but was the other one so stuffed with people?"

With a frown he looked around. "I don't know for sure, but I think that's because of the surprise calls. You see, the other one is obviously closer to the door. If we get called to report in the entrance hall it is crucial to be there extremely fast. The further you are away from the door, the longer it takes so that makes this one less attractive to stay in. We even get those calls in the middle of the night. And I guess it's just too small. I think most people like to stick to their groups. It's pretty dangerous to sleep on your own."

"Then why did you say we should sleep here?" Nurash asked softly.

"Because it's even more dangerous to sleep on your own in the middle of hostile groups. And they won't do anything to you the first night." He chuckled. "Not after being warned by Fainertil like that."

"Is it really that bad then? I thought he was joking when he said the others would give us trouble."

"Nah." Lloros shook his head at my question. "There is some serious rivalry going around this place, with the point to make the others see you are the toughest and the meanest. Add that to the fact that both of you are years older than the other first years it's pretty obvious you're in for some tough times. I had it myself last year. First years are supposed to be like 7 or 8 years old. If you're older it usually just means you're not as talented. I certainly had to fight quite a few off before they realised my family just wouldn't let me go sooner."

"Nurash told me, yeah. I just didn't—"

Unexpected, Nurash cut me off. "Your family didn't want to let you go?" She asked with an incredulous look on her face.

He nodded. "Jup. I actually was meant to go when I was 7 but then Kasha came by and they decided it was probably better if we joined at the same time. Or at least somewhat close to each other. But the others here had a hard time believing that."

"Eh? But I beat you all the time! Why is it my fault you only joined last year?"

Lloros gave me a cocky grin. "Because grandfather decided that you weren't ready yet. You know, your father said that you were ready and all that but when he took you with him to Blacklight, grandfather just shot him down and told him he was wrong. Apparently you needed a bit more training."

It was pretty much a slap in the face. After the first day, when I had knocked Ureval off his horse, I had calmed down. I had realised that I couldn't get angry at my parents because they probably only wanted to protect me. It was not their fault Father's family had decided something. But now Lloros told me that the only reason Father had ever taken me along was to let them inspect me. Which meant they had known all along.

"How come your family decided when you were ready? I thought the trainers always decided that."

They carried on with their conversation, unaware of my shock.

"We're quite a special family. As Redorans we serve Vivec so we have an entire branch of our family dedicated to Sithis. We actually make up a very big part of the entire Dark Brotherhood, in pretty much all provinces. Ever second child of our family head becomes the next leader of that branch, which everyone just calls the Shadow Branch." He chuckled. "And all their descendants also get presented to the Dark Brotherhood to serve. So that gives us a bit of influence in all these matters. That's why no one objected that I stayed at home for a while longer."

"My father…" I managed to say without letting my distress show. All of this was information I had never heard before. Things that I didn't even know existed. An entire branch that gave their life for the Dark Brotherhood? I was starting to get a headache from everything Lloros had so casually been saying.

"Yeah. Your father is the current leader of the Shadow branch. Probably why you and me had to join at the same time."

Then something suddenly hit me.

"But why do you have to join the Dark Brotherhood if your mother isn't the second child? You just said that only the children of the second child have to join, didn't you?"

He just looked at me dumbfounded. "Don't you know all that stuff already, Kasha? Your father must have told you."

"Two weeks ago Father told me that this _Dunmer_," I spit out angrily, "I had never seen before would take care of me from now on. He didn't bother to tell me that he was sending to some sort of training centre for murderers. He didn't bother to tell me that he is from a family of murderers. Or that he is one himself, for that matter. All he ever told me is that the Bren family is religious. But not that they believe in a god that has no respect for life."

By now my eyes were burning with a mixture of anger and tears that were welling up for some reason.

"I have spent my entire life respecting Y'ffre and the lessons he taught us. Life is something valuable that only the gods should be allowed to take away. Do you know why we Bosmer never start a war? Huh? It's because we respect life. If we kill someone we have to use every fibre in their body because otherwise it would be a waste of life and the gifts that the gods gave us! We can't kill without paying for it!"

The both of them only looked at me in silence, shock written all over their faces.

"That might just be the reason why your grandfather thought you weren't ready to join us here."

All three of us whipped around to see a girl leaning against the wall, looking at us with a raised eyebrow.

"Although I'm not quite sure why you are here now if you're still not ready to do what is needed." she continued, "You claim to respect life and these lessons of Y'ffre. You blame those two, and everyone else in the cavern, for disrespecting the gods and their _gifts_."

She shook her head before going on. "What do you even know about the Brotherhood? All I've heard you say is that it's a bond of murderers without respect. You honour Y'ffre, we honour Sithis. Who are you to decide that your god is worth more than ours? You don't know anything about us, or Him. _Absolutely nothing_, you've made that much obvious. You show no respect to Sithis or the Night Mother but you are the cute little Bosmer we should all feel sorry for?

"I don't buy that. The Brotherhood doesn't kill for fun or even for business, as the outside world claims. Sure, on the outside it seems to be nothing else but business. But do you really think we'd kill if not to prove our loyalty or our worship? You literally eat the people you have killed to keep your god pleased. We take the lives to keep ours happy."

She snorted and slowly walked towards us.

"But I doubt it's really the killing that bothers you. To me you just are this little kid who is upset because your father gave you away. And you can't take the fact your parents have been keeping secrets from you."

Her words were enough to make the anger disappear and leave the tears streaming all over my face. She was right, of course. She didn't even know me and already she managed to look right through me. I didn't even have an idea what it was like to kill someone. I just hated that the father I respected and admired so much had not told me the truth, or at least not all of it. My world came tumbling down for the second time in two weeks and, as she said, I just couldn't handle it.

"And _that_ is what you're here for. To grow up and become strong. To realise that your dad didn't give you away but that he just gave you the chance to grow."

She now stood next to me and put a hand on my head.

"I'm Eydis, by the way." The Nord smiled. "Second year Harrada group."

_AN: Meet Eydis. She's only in here because I stumbled across the name and wanted to use it since I like it so much. If you're a Morrowind player, you might recognise it. I think it's the only name I stole from a Morrowind NPC that actually had some importance._

_My apologies if this chapter seems awkward. I finished half of this about 6 months ago and when I wanted to continue a few days ago, I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen in this chapter. So that's why it might seem weird. I tried my best to patch it up, but I'm not sure if it worked._

_The fact I actually bothered to finished this before June can be blamed solely on Laluzi for actually making me want to write for the first time in literally months. So thanks for that~_

_Thanks for reading!_


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